


second recording

by vagarius



Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: (kinda), Gen, Humor, Slice of Life, in which tsukishima accidentally becomes the voice behind a 2D idol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 14:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17685521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: Kei isn’t exactly sure how he got to this point.





	second recording

**Author's Note:**

> this is silly and unrealistic and very much based off my own surprise at finding out uchiyama kouki is part of lipxlip
> 
> as i said, it's meant to just be light and fun, so i hope you enjoy it for what it is

Kei isn’t exactly sure how he got to this point.

(That’s a lie, though: Kei is perfectly sure how he got this point, but he will deny it to his dying days, if only to preserve his own sanity.)

He had only wanted some extra cash for Yamaguchi’s birthday present. The gaming system was out of his price range, and a little too much for him to be comfortable asking Akiteru for help. And so he looked for short, possibly one-time jobs that would bring in a large sum of money.

These parameters weren’t very realistic, Kei knew. But as he searched, he found a nearly perfect opportunity: a one-time demo recording, aiming to gauge audience preferences before a new 2D idol unit officially debuts. Rookies were welcome, and the job payed enough to cover for the gaming system, plus royalties (not that Kei expected them to add up to much). The best part: Kei wouldn’t have to reveal his identity to the public. He would be hidden behind an animated face, whose voice would be replaced by an experienced voice actor soon enough. It was almost too good to be true.

After researching as much as could to confirm it wasn’t some sort of scam, he applied and auditioned, and somehow ended up being chosen to perform the demo as one half of the beta idol unit. His temporary partner, Haru, seemed a bit odd, but was relatively quiet and cordial and bought Kei strawberry milk from the vending machine at the studio, so Kei thought he wasn’t so bad.

The actual recording was long and tiring, but Kei found some joy in singing without worrying whether people were secretly judging him – the people recording him judged him out loud, and then gave approving nods when he adjusted accordingly. At the end of it all, they informed him that a check would come through the mail in about a week, and to call them if it didn’t reach him at or before then. A week later, as they said, his promised check was sent to him (and Haru, he supposed), and he was able to buy Yamaguchi the gaming system he had been eyeing ever since it was released.

That was in October.

It is now June, and Kei is in the clubroom and trying not to throw up at seeing the tickets in Hinata’s hands; the tickets which would give Hinata and whoever else has them access to _his_ live show reveal, and therefore access to his secret idol identity that was never supposed to become more than a one-time thing.

“Natsu really likes them, so my mom bought her a ticket, but since my mom didn’t want her to go on her own, she got a ticket for me too, except now Natsu’s sick and the concert is tomorrow night and I don’t want to waste the tickets, so.” Hinata inhales deeply, then bows. “So will you please go to the concert with me, Yamaguchi?” he nearly yells, and if Kei weren’t so horrified he’d be laughing at him for getting so awkward asking. But as it was, Kei was horrified, and Yamaguchi was giving his I-know-you’re-not-going-to-like-what-I-say-next-but-I’ll-be-super-nice-about-it smile, and Kei knew then that he was probably more screwed than he initially thought.

“I’d love to, but…” Yamaguchi turned away slightly, looking sheepish. “I already have a ticket? Shimada-san won one in some sort of store lottery and gave it to me, saying he wouldn’t use it. I wasn’t actually planning on using it either, but if you’re going, I guess I’ll go with you.”

_No,_ Kei thinks. _This is not happening. This is a bad dream._

“You would?” Hinata shouts, shooting up from his bow. Yamaguchi nods, and Hinata lets out an excited noise before schooling his face into a determined expression. He marches over to Kageyama, who is pulling on his coat and waiting to leave with the rest of them. “Kageyama!” Hinata continues to shout, despite the close proximity. “Come to the concert with me and Yamaguchi!”

“Concert for what?” Kageyama asks, which isn’t a denial, which _is not good you can’t find out too –_

“Does it matter? If you come I’ll pay for your meat bun on Monday.”

“… Sure.”

_– this is so not good I do not need all three of them there –_

“Ah, you mean that reveal concert?” Yachi asks as Kei and the other three boys meet her outside the clubroom. “I’m going too! We can all go together tomorrow.”

_– oh god now there’s going to be all four of them, I do not need this in my life._

Yamaguchi looks over at him questioningly, and Kei guesses he hasn’t talked for a while, even for him. “Have fun, you four. I’ll just stay far away from the mess.” _Lies,_ Kei thinks, but at least his voice stayed steady as he told it, instead of sounding as horrified as he feels.

Yamaguchi smiles, placated. “Thanks, Tsukki. You said you were busy tomorrow anyway, right?”

_For the exact same reason you’ll be busy tomorrow._ “Right,” Kei confirms, then looks away before his face can make any strange contortions without his permission.

_Fuck,_ Kei thinks empathetically. _How the fuck did I get to this point._

_(The gaming system,_ his mind supplies. Ah, yes, the gaming system. Definitely not all the decisions he made afterwards.)

 

 

 

The day after Yamaguchi’s birthday, Kei raises an eyebrow at the link Haru sends him. This is the second message Haru has ever sent to him (the first was _this is haru),_ so he clicks on it, only slightly dubious about what its contents could be. His eyes bulge at the news article, detailing the sudden success of a new 2D idol unit, meant to be a one-time demo before the idol unit officially debuts. Rumors are floating around that the duo, meant to only be temporary voices, may be brought back due to the success.

_No,_ Kei thinks, then shuts off his phone screen.

The link is still up when he checks his phone before practice, but he quickly exits out of it before he or anyone else around him can read it. Practice goes normally, and if Kei puts a bit more fight than usual into his spikes and serves, well, it just means he’s trying harder. Not that he’s slightly pissed off, or anything.

He walks home alongside Yamaguchi, as normal, and eats dinner with his mom as normal, and heads up to his room to do homework as normal. As he is doing his homework, he gets a call.

“Tsukishima-kun,” the producer says, “how do you feel about a second recording?”

Kei isn’t sure how to feel about it, honestly, but the producer promises his identity will remain a secret. For now.

A couple Saturdays later, he’s back in the studio, singing a new song and getting judged by the same faces.

Haru buys him strawberry milk again, and Kei offers him a small smile in return.

 

 

 

The cycle continues, and six months later, Kei is being told he needs to reveal his identity after keeping it secret for all this time.

“No,” Kei answers on instinct, but he knows that isn’t the right answer.

“Tsukishima-kun,” the producer says, and Kei isn’t sure when the producer started sounding _fond_ when they talked, but right now Kei doesn’t want to hear it. “I know you don’t want to, but we can’t do a live without revealing your face. That’s just not how this works.”

_That’s just not how this works._ That’s really what it comes down to, isn’t it? Kei wasn’t supposed to become the voice behind an increasingly famous 2D idol, but here he was, doing just that. And to his horror, he starts to think that revealing his face might not be too bad. None of the people he cares about have ever expressed interest in 2D idols (or at least not male ones), and never about his unit in particular. And he’ll just have to hope no girls connect two and two together at school. He’ll just glare and stick to Yamaguchi and the volleyball team like glue for the week or so after. It will be fine.

_It will be fine,_ Kei repeats to himself. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll do the live.”

The producer smiles, as if he knew how Kei would answer all along.

 

 

 

_This is so not fine,_ Kei thinks, when he comes home from volleyball practice the night before the concert. _This is so very decidedly not fine._

(He texts Haru this exact sentence, before he goes to bed. Haru sends back the word _shrug._ Kei isn’t sure why he expected anything more than that.)

 

 

 

The day of the concert arrives, and as Kei looks at himself in the mirror, he says, “What the fuck.”

Haru turns and narrows his eyes. His green dress shirt looks a little odd on him (he’d look better in the blue one, Kei thinks), but otherwise looks as put together and princely as he’s supposed to. Kei supposes he himself does, too, but it’s hard to wrap his brain around the fact. It’s hard to wrap his brain around a lot of aspects about today.

Before Haru can scrutinize him more, Kei looks over to Haru and blurts out, “Do you know anyone here?” Kei belatedly realizes that he didn’t quite phrase the question correctly, because he knows that Haru knows at least some of the people backstage. He meant to ask about the audience, but Kei doesn’t feel like correcting himself, so he lets Haru parse through his words and hopefully pick up on Kei’s meaning.

After a few moments, Haru nods to himself, and replies, “My friend Makoto is here. And a few others.” Haru pauses, then adds, “They said they wanted to support me.”

“Oh,” Kei responds. _My friends are here, too,_ he should say, but admitting it still twists his stomach uncomfortably. It’s not that he doesn’t want them here, it’s just that… he doesn’t want them here. It’s embarrassing. _And I don’t want them to think of me differently._

Kei’s expression must change the slightest bit, because Haru comes over to pat his shoulder, and says, “They’ll be fine.” Which isn’t exactly what Kei needed to hear, and both of them know that, but it does the job of untwisting Kei’s stomach, and reassuring him that if nothing else, his friends are all too hard-headed to change their opinion of him _that_ much.

All too soon he’s being ushered to the stage, waiting for his cue to run out, beyond the curtains, and into the unknown sea of faces and lights that lie before him. Haru waits across from him, in the opposite wing of the stage. When the music starts, Kei swears he sees Haru send him a _grin,_ of all things, but perhaps it is a trick of the light, because Haru is already rushing out onto the stage, and the sea of lights and faces fills with sound, deafening and sweet all at once.

Kei takes a deep breath, hears his cue, then runs onto the stage after him.

 

 

 

( _“Huh?”_ Hinata yells, though it is nearly lost in the cacophony of cheers surrounding them. “Is that _Tsukishima?”_

Kageyama narrows his eyes. “He’s… smiling.”

Yachi giggles frantically, and while the other three send her concerned looks, she says, “I can’t – I cannot believe I’ve been listening to Tsukishima all this time.” She giggles again. “Wow. Okay. Okay then.”

And Yamaguchi, standing frozen, simply blinks a few times, and then screams, “Nice kill, Tsukki!”

And for a second, he swears that Tsukishima meets his eyes, and in that moment, both their smiles get a little wider.)

 

 

 


End file.
